He stayed where he was, shielded by a big man in front of him who carried a child straddled on his shoulders for a better view. He saw the limousines arrive, one by one, depositing members of the Bundestag, the Ministers, the diplomatic envoys, the honoured guests.
Christ, Marcus, there's going to be more of them inside than out here.
That was when he saw Kaas.
Amongst a group of reporters and cameramen waiting on the steps.
The bastards were inside. Whatever they were up to, it was going to be inside.
Then he remembered the room in the chalet, the benches laid out on the rostrum, the two lecterns he and Billie had been forced to stand at.
They were going to kill the President.
No, Marcus. They're going to kill both Presidents. And anyone else they can get.
Ch. 77
As tired as she was, Billie had found it impossible to sleep once she'd climbed into the soft matressed bed. She could only think of Adam, of the danger he was in. And how much she missed him.
She eventually went and sat by the window and watched the dawn break over the housetops. Then she rang room service and ordered a coffee and a full English breakfast.
At nine o' clock there was a knock on the door. It was the DDI.
'See you've eaten,' he said, looking at the remains of her breakfast. 'Sleep alright?'
'No.'
'Can't blame you.'
'Have you found Adam?'
He shook his head. 'They found the car. Your friend was heading for the Reichstag.'
'If that's where the trouble is…that's where he'll go.'
'You could be wrong about him.'
'How?'
The DDI considered for a moment before he spoke. 'Ever hear of the Reichstag fire?'
'Yes. In the thirties. Burnt down by a communist.'
'Two communists. Twenty seven February, 1933. Dimitrow and Torgler. Sounds like an ice skating team.' He saw she didn't appreciate the joke. 'That's what the Nazis claimed. They were found 'Not Guilty' by the Supreme Court. Then they arrested a Dutchman, crazy guy, called Marinus van der Lubbe. He was found guilty and condemned to death. That judgement was overturned in 1982. The case is still officially open. The real theory is that Hitler's boys did it. They came into the Reichstag through an underground tunnel connected to the Air Ministry. Hermann Goering's Air Ministry. They just torched the place down. Then they accused the reds. Their aim was to create chaos, then come in as the only party to lead Germany. They succeeded. On twenty eight February, 1933, they introduced an emergency decree that gave them total control over the political system of this country.'
'I see the connection. But what's that got to do with Adam?'
'These Nazis of yours…from Dresden. They're probably up to the same crazy scheme. We've checked the place, the Heidi, out. It's definitely a training camp. Only it's registered as an executive survival course. We got them in the States. Doesn't mean you're not right.'
'But Adam…'
'Could just be in on it.'
'Why torture him? If he's one of them.'
'All I'm saying is that nothing in life is what it seems. He could be working for someone else.'
'But the Nazis…if they're up to something you've got to stop them.'
'That's under control. We know where they are. But he's the joker in the deck. He could switch hit on us and all our preparations would be blown. Then there really would be chaos.'
They said nothing for a while. It was Billie who spoke finally. 'Not Adam. Not him.'
'I hope you're right. Helluva chance for us to take, isn't it?'
'I don't know where he is.'
The DDI saw he wasn't going to get any further. 'I've agreed with the police that you stay here. You're still officially under their jurisdiction. They've got their men positioned outside. Remember what I told you. Don't tell them any more than they know already. Okay?'
She nodded.
The DDI left her alone.
She thought he was going to the Reichstag.
He returned to the embassy building. There was no way he was going to the Reichstag today.
Ch. 78
Frick and Schiller looked down on the half empty Plenary chamber from a public viewing gallery that ran the length of the hall. It was filling slowly as members of the Bundestag took their places. The President's podium and the two lecterns in front of it were empty except for a sound technician who was checking the microphones.
'Not long now,' said Schiller. It was he who had used his influence and arranged an invitation for Frick and Kragan. He knew Frick wanted to be there when history was made. He knew Frick saw it as part of his destiny.
'We shall rebuild. This is the natural home for government,' stated Frick. 'The natural home,' he repeated.
Kragan came along the gallery towards them.
'Ready?' asked Frick.
'As planned,' replied Kragan.
'Good. Time to take our seats.'
Ch. 79
Kaas had entered the Reichstag with the other reporters when Adam made his move.
An unruly group of agitators had moved up in the crowd, their banner declaring that they were members of the New Communist Peace Movement. Their antics were anything but peaceful as they pushed through, trampling a path to the front where they could be easily recognised by the television cameras.
Adam saw an undercover policeman infiltrate the group, his handcuffs ready to slip onto the leader. Adam came up behind him as the others in the New Communist Peace Movement turned their attention to him. Realising he was about to be attacked by the others, the policeman now shouted for help as he reached into his back pocket for a revolver. But he was knocked down before he could pull it and the group set about kicking him on the ground. Those innocents in the crowd who were caught in the violence started to scream and scramble backwards away from the violence.
Adam snatched the cuffs from the fallen policeman's hand, then turned on the attacking mob. Those nearest him were no match for his martial skills and as they backed away from his vicious attack, the policeman rose to his feet. Uniformed police were now pushing their way through the crowd to bring the situation under control.
'That one!' shouted the policeman who had been attacked. 'He's the leader. He's the one.'
Adam moved towards the youth who had been singled out, a tall thin man in his early thirties wearing jeans and a duffle coat. The man turned to run, but Adam was on him, easily knocking him to the ground.
'I got him,' he shouted as he handcuffed Duffle Coat and dragged him to his feet. 'I got the bastard.' He pushed his prisoner forward, towards the Reichstag. As they moved through the crowd, he fished the marksman's ID card from his pocket and flashed it to the uniformed guards on the crowd barriers. Behind came the policeman who had initiated the arrest and he also flashed his ID.
The guards opened the barrier and let them through. Adam pulled the prisoner towards the police vans parked at the side of the Reichstag, just under the west tower.
'He's your collar,' said Adam, pushing the prisoner towards the other policeman. 'I'll catch up with your report later.'
'Thanks. For saving me from a beating.'
'Getting rough out there, isn't it?'
'Yeah. And it's going to get worse.'
The policeman hauled the prisoner towards an internment van as Adam walked away, down the ramp that led under the great steps at the front of the building. He crossed behind the police personnel buses that were parked there and looked into them as he walked down. He saw what he was looking for at the third bus and he climbed in. It was a pile of police topcoats on a seat. He tried three of them before one fitted, then he left the bus and went down the ramp and under the door that led into the Reichstag. The armed policeman on duty nodded at him as he flashed his ID and he entered the door.